We are pleased to announce the opening of “Geo+Morphic,” Chase Langford’s first solo exhibition at Susan Eley Fine Art. “Geo+Morphic” opens with an artist’s reception on November 6, 6-8 pm, and will remain on view through December.

Approximately 20 paintings will be on display, drawn from the artist’s Morphic and Essex series. Influenced since boyhood by a love of mapmaking, which eventually led to his study of and work in cartography at UCLA, Langford continues to be inspired by the spatial rhythms of geography. While a cartographer’s intent is to apply precision and science to outline our spatial world, its coastlines, rivers and roads, Langford’s paintings depart from the rules of cartography, as he applies a free flowing approach. The looseness creates a marvelous abstraction from painting to painting.

Langford’s Morphic paintings, with their biomorphic and organic forms in constant ebb and flow, elicit great sensual pleasure. While based in geography, Langford creates magical, mystical landscapes, with brightly colored paths, waterways, rivers, plateaus and rocks, seemingly untouched by humankind. Or changing our lens, we could be peering at a cross section of a fantastical rock, cut with bright colored striations, shiny mica formations, and layers of faults and folds that reveal both rough hewn textures and smooth, saturated surfaces.

In addition to the natural world, Langford is influenced by architecture, design and fashion, reflected in the work of the Essex series, redolent with the aesthetic of mid 20th- century design, with it tighter geometry and hues of black, white, reds and blues. Textile patterns and ethnic woven creations also come to mind, as the aesthetic is vaguely reminiscent of ancient or Aztec cultures.

Langford is a wellspring of inspiration and positive energy, creating exultant paintings. He often works on several canvases at one time, as he waits for the layers of oil paint to dry. From his Los Angeles studio atop the Santa Monica Mountains along Mulholland Drive, he draws inspiration from the rugged landscape, the deep chaparral filled canyons and sweeping panoramas.

Langford first showed at SEFA in the group exhibition “Making Their Mark,” curated by SEFA artist Amber George (2011). Since then, SEFA has presented his paintings at Aqua Art Miami (2012), CONTEXT Art Miami (2013) and Art Silicon Valley San Francisco (2014). In addition to the Morphic and Essex series, SEFA has displayed work from the Chroma series, characterized by repeating feathery brush strokes on paper, applied in a mosaic pattern; and the Coldwater series, which show tangled, lyrical lines that at first glance feel aquatic, but have been inspired by the movements and rhythms of Coldwater Canyon near his home.

Concurrent with “Geo+Morphic,” Langford is featured in a solo exhibition organized and held at Gensler architects, Washington DC, opening on October 29 and remaining on view for four months.

Chase Langford born in Pontiac, MI, is a Los Angeles-based artist well known for his geographically inspired paintings. He studied cartography earning a BA from UC Santa Barbara in Geography before working as a cartographer at UCLA. Starting with his Map Paintings he reinterpreted geography by taking selected features from maps and filled in the reconfigured shapes in a flurry of color and movement creating a fresh take on familiar geographic forms. This followed with series that moved even deeper into pure abstraction with his Coldwater, Mulholland, and Scrape series, which all led to his Morphic series, the core focus of his painting today.